New colors the Woodshop

Tall, roomy and bearded, you’ll find Eric clad in a thick brown shop apron in the woodshop on most days, chatting easily with just about anybody who comes through the door.

Or maybe you already noticed the dyed and sculpted wood bowls that he turns. They are often subjected to new chemical finishes, color combinations and methods. Eric is not afraid to try something new.

If you’ve tried your hand a various trade or skill, there is a good chance Eric has tried it, too. He is a research junkie. He has put together drag racers, fixed busted farm equipment, sold automotive paint and finishes and tinkered with all manner of machines.

As a “recovering farmer” from Ohio, Eric moved to Portland so his wife, an architect, could take a job here. His previous life growing vegetables required constant ingenuity and persistence–traits that Eric carried here at the Bench. If there’s a tricked out item in the wood shop that looks new, useful and makes the shop work better, chances are Eric had a hand in it. (see: the charging station and drill rack, table saw push sticks cut with the X-Carve, and a soon-to-be-completed router cabinet, complete with drawers for bit storage.)

While Eric was used to the wide-open spaces of the Midwest, he is adjusting to urban apartment life here slowly. The Open Bench has been a key outlet. If you need help with a woodworking project, either in execution, design or assembly, Eric is your guy.

He is usually around most afternoons during the weekdays. On Wednesday nights he is your wood shop guide from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Eric’s experience means that even if you’re stuck on an electronics project or have a conundrum in the metal shop, he can probably help with those things, too.